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A BRIEF ACCOUNT 



OK SOMK OF THK 



Early Settlers of Groton, 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



BKING THE APPENDIX TO "GROTON EPITAPHS. 



By SAMUEL A. GREEN, M.D. 





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A BRIEF ACCOUNT 



OF SOME OF THE 



Early Settlers of Groton, 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



BEING THE APPENDIX TO " GROTON EPITAPHS.' 



w 

By SAMUEL A. GREEN, M.D. 



GROTON: 0(WvUv^ 

1878. Wrv}?V|,Vl-. 



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Sr^frtg CCoptea printct in ti^is form. 



No. /^ < 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



TOURING many years Groton was a frontier town, situated 
-L^ relatively a long distance from Boston. At that period tliere 
were but few settlements in the colon)', and the younger generations 
were wont to live near the home of their childhood. The popula- 
tion of the town, through the first century of its e.xistence, was 
made up largely of the descendants of its founders and early set- 
tlers. In this Appendix, I purpose to give a short account of 
some of the families living here during that time, including a brief 
notice of the petitioners for the plantation of Groton, and of a few 
other persons connected with the history of the town. It will be 
seen that a considerable number of them came from Watertown 
and Lynn. 

SSnncroft. Benjamin Bancroft, the son of Thomas, of Read- 
ing, is the ancestor of the families of this name, living in Groton 
and its vicinity. He married Anna, daughter of John and Anna 
(Tarbell) Lawrence, of Lexington, and had nine children. He 
lived for a while at Charlestown, but afterward, about the year 
1728, removed to Groton, where he died July 21, 1787, aged 86 
years, and his widow also, April 3, 1790, aged 87 years. He 
was a tanner by trade, and lived a short distance south of the Uni- 
tarian Church, on the east side of the Great Road. His tannery 
was on the opposite side of the way. The stone powder magazine, 
used by the State during the Revolution, was situated on his land. 

Benjamin, the eldest child, followed the occupation of his father, 
and lived on the old homestead. He was town treasurer and a dea- 
con of the church, besides holding other positions of trust. He 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



married Alice, daughter of William and Mary (Farnsworth) Tar- 
bell, and had eight children. His wife died November 29, 1781, 
aged 51 years, and he died October 27, 1804, aged 80 years. 

Edmund, the second child, removed to that part of Groton, now 
Pepperell, where he carried on farming. He was town treasurer of 
Pepperell for twenty years, and a representative in the General 
Court. He married, December 30, 1747, for his first wife, Elizabeth 
Atherton, of Harvard, who died October 6, 1755, and he married, 
in the year 1758, for his second wife, Mrs. Rachel (Howard) Bar- 
ron, widow of Jonathan Barron and daughter of Samuel Howard, of 
Chelmsford. She died June 3, 1784, aged 54 years, and he mar- 
ried, for the third time, Mrs. Phebe (Lawrence) Bancroft, widow of 
Jonathan Bancroft, of Salem, and daughter of Colonel William and 
Susanna (Prescott) Lawrence, of Groton. Edmund died October 
25, 1806, aged 79 years, and his widow, November 21, 1808, aged 
74 years. He had four children by his first marriage, and eight by 
his second. Dr. Amos Bancroft, a graduate of Harvard College in 
the class of 1791, and for many years a distinguished physician of 
Groton, was a son of the second wife. 

Deacon Benjamin and Edmund were the only sons of Benjamin 
Bancroft who grew up to manhood. 

iScItt'On. Two brothers of this name, sons of Ellis and 
[Grace ?] Barron, of Watertown, were original proprietors of Gro- 
ton ; Ellis, the elder brother, owning a fifteen-acre right, and John, 
the other, a seven-acre right. Ellis married Hannah, widow of 
Timothy Hawkins, of Watertown, and had several children, before 
coming to Groton, where others were born. John also had a 
family, but now for a long time there has been no representative of 
the name in the town. EJias Barron, of Groton, was in Captain 
Lovewell's fight. May 8, 1725, at Pigwacket, where he was wounded 
and afterward lost. The sum of ^^30 was allowed his family, by 
the General Court, June 17, 1725 ; and according to the record in 
the printed "Journal," of December 21, 1726, it appears that his 
wiitow's name was Priscilla. 

Samuel Barron left a small bequest to the town, which still keeps 
his name in grateful remembrance. The following is an extract 
from his will, dated February 5, 1753 : — 

"My Will .ind pk-suer is that the first Church of Christ in Groton should 
have suni thing oule of mv Estate for the poore of saicd Church and I do hereby 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



Give fo the saied Church the sum of thirteen pounds five shillings and four 
pence Lawfull money to be paied to the saied Church oute of my Estate by my 
Executer within one year next after my decease to be Lett oute to Interest by 
the saied Church and the Interest to be approprated for the Bennefit of the 
poore of saied Church as the Church shall order but the princaple never to be 
demineshed." 

2}l00d. Three of the petitioners for the plantation of Groton, 
viz., Richard, John, and Robert, bore this name, and all three were 
sons of James and Ellen Blood, of Concord. Another brother, 
James, was an early proprietor of the town. Richard was the only 
one of these brothers that lived in Groton, and he is the ancestor 
of most of the name in this neighborhood. He was the largest 
proprietor in the town, owning a sixty-acre right, and was one of 
the first board of selectmen chosen by the inhabitants, and also . . 

town clerk in the year 1668. He married Isabel ^:^, and had ' ' "f"*^*' 

Mary, who died April 19, 1662 ; James, who was killed by the 
Indians, September 13, 1692; Nathaniel, who married, June 13, 
1670, Hannah, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Long) Parker ; 
Elizabeth, who married, December i, 1686, Thomas Tarbell, the 
third of the name in Groton; and Joseph, who was an original 
proprietor of the town. Richard, the father, lived in the district 
called "Nod," and died December 7, 1683. 

Utilise. The name of London Bridge will have more interest 
for the inhabitants of Groton, when it is known that he was a resi- 
dent of the town, and that he remembered it in his will. This 
instrument, bearing date May 23, 1775, is on file in the Middlesex 
Probate Office at East Cambridge, and was presented for probate, 
January 25, 1776. The following are extracts from it: — 

" I do hereby give and Bequeath the s* sura of Thirteen pounds six shil- 
lings and eight pence to the Church of Christ in Groton afores*. the Interest of 
which Sum is to be annually given to the poor of s''. Chh. at the Discretion of 
their Com'." ." . . . 

He then makes provision for the payment of his debts and a 
small bequest to Captain Henry Farwell, and adds : — 

"and if that should not be sufficient for those purposes my will is that mv 
Executor take so much out of the above given to the Chh. as to Defray the 
Charges Abovesi and the Remainder be applyed by the Chh. in manner 
as Aboves.'' for their pour." 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



CJOOJIfr. Timothy Cooper was one of the original petitioners 
for the plantation of Groton, and his name appears in the first list 
of selectmen, appointed by the General Court. He married 
Sarah, daughter of Joseph and Hester (Pierce) Morse, of Water- 
town, and had four children. In the inventory of his estate, on file 
in the Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge, it is recorded 
that he was " Sleaine by the Indeins the Second day of march 
1675-6." This is the date of the first attack on the town in King 
Philip's War. 

^ablS. Dolor Davis was a petitioner for the plantation of 
Groton, and one of the first board of selectmen appointed by the 
General Court. He came to this country from England, about the 
year 1640, and lived for a while at Barnstable. He is the ancestor 
of many of the name now living in Middlesex and Worcester coun- 
ties. He married Margery, sister of Major Simon Willard, and at 
one time was a resident of Concord. He probably lived here but a 
short time ; he died at Barnstable in the year 1673. 

jFStllBlDOrtf). Matthias Farnsworth, the progenitor of the 
numerous families in Groton bearing this name, came from Lynn. 
He was an original proprietor of the town, and owned a twenty-acre 
right. His farm was situated on both sides of the road leading to 
Harvard, a little south of James's brook, more than a mile from the 
village. He was living at Lynn in the year 1657, and at Groton in 
1664, though he may have been a resident of each place earlier than 
these respective dates. He died in the latter part of the year 1689, 
aged 77 years. The following is a copy of his will, on file in the 
Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge : — 

Groton Jenewarey I5"> : 16SS-9 and in the 4 yere of the Rahi of King Jams 
the sacond I mathyas farnworth sen of groton in the county of midlsix in new 
ingland aged about 77 yers being wall considrat and of sound and parfit Judg- 
ment and understanding thanks be to god for it I being sensabl of my many 
frailtyes & unsartanty of my natueral lif and knowing what disaduantag many 
times hapens for want of a Right sating the hous in order being desiras to 
ackt and satl things that consarns me doe mak conshans and doe daclare this 
prasant instrement to be my last will & tastement in manar and form as foloweth 
making uoyd all formar wills ather by word or dead but first I Commit my soul 
to all myty god my Greater hoping I shal Rasaue full pardon of all my sins 
throw Jasus Christ and I commit my bodey to the earth from whans it was 
taken to be beured in such deasant manar as mv exsecters shall see meet and 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



'• first to the distrebiting my eastat I doe giue to my beloued wif so long as she 
liues a widow won third of my who! astat and the moueabls within the hous I 

2- doe laue to hur to daspose as shee pleases and sacondly I doe giue to my 
son mathyas farnworth for his full porshan that fiue akker Right which his 
deed spasefyes and a peese of madow called by the name of half moon madow 
and twanty akekers of land lying neer a plase called by the nam of Prascots 
olde mill and this to be counted to be his full porshan unlass he meets with 
malistation by any ralations of his and if so then I will and giue to my son 
mathyas my hom stall that I now dwall upon with hous & barn and that hom 
stall that my son mathyas now lines on to Raturn in seed thare of 

3- and thirdly I giue to my son John farnworth that fiue akar Right that his 
deed spasefyes and tan shilins more to be Payed of the astat for his full 
porshan 

4- fourthly I giue to my son bangeman farnworth that part of my land lying on 
the out sid of my hom stall fans at the lower end of the lot and twanty ake- 
kers at the plas neer prescotts old mill and six akkers of madow lying at south 
madow and this for his porshan 

5- fiftly for my son samewall & Jonathan farnworth I doe giue the Rast 
of my land and madow that is undasposed on lying at the old mill for thare 
porshan 

and I giue my daughter Robison won cow and to my daughter thacher I giue 
twenty shilins and to my daughter Stoon won cow and twanty shilins and to my 
daughter abigall farnworth twalue pound for her porshan and as to the Rast 
of my eastat undasposed of I leaue in the hand of my exsectters to daspose of 
to my wif or children as thay think to be most Rason I mak Chois of my son 
mathyas farnworth with nathanil lawrins san & Jonas prescott for exsackters 
this taken from his own mouth syned and sealed in the prasants of us 

his 
mathyas ^\ farnworth sen 

mark 
nathannil lawrance 
Jonas Prescott 

his 

Nicklas (/) huchins 

mark 

also I giue my loam & tacklins for waring to my son mathyas farnworth 

X''- 17. 1689 Charlestowne 

Nathan" Larrance & Jonas Prescott appearing in Court made oath yt they 
were prsent when Mathias ffarnworth Deced signed sealed and published this 
as his last will & Testament, and y' he was of sound judgment and of dispose- 
ing minde when he did y'' same and yt they sett theire hands there to as 
witnesses w" Nicolas Uutchins 

as att. Sam"- Phipps Cler 

. ■^ Pa ".'4.- i-gL ,, ' .-, 

His wife's name was Maryland tjj^ had ten children. The list 

of them given below is compiled from different sources. It is 
probable that his " daughter Robison '" was the wife of James 
Robertson, or Robinson ; and in that case, her name was Eliza- 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



beth, and probably she was born in England. James Robertson, an 
original proprietor of the town, married his wife, January 16, 1667, 
and she died December 22, 1729, aged 82 years. I am not sure 
about the order of the births of his children, but I suggest the fol- 
lowing : Elizabeth [?], who probably married James Robertson ; 
Joseph, born November 17, 1657, at Lynn, and died February 20, 
1686-7 ; Mary, born October ir, 1660, at Lynn, and married, April 
II, 1676, Samuel Thatcher, of Watertown ; Matthias, born at 
Groton ; John, who married, December 8, 1686, Hannah, daughter 
of John and Sarah (Eliot) Aldis, of Dedham, and had nine chil- 
dren ; Benjamin, who married Mary, daughter of Jonas and Mary 
(Loker) Prescott, and had ten children ; Samuel, who married, 
December 12, 1706, widow Mary (VVhitcomb) Willard, and had 
three children ; Abigail, born January 17, 1671, and probably 
married John Hutchins, of Groton ; Sarah [?], who perhaps mar- 
ried Simon Stone ; and Jonathan, born June i, 1675, married 
Ruth , and had fourteen children. 

John, one of the sons named above, was an influential man in 
all town affairs. He was an ensign in the militia, a selectman, a 
representative to the General Court from the year 1708 to 1714 
inclusive, excepting 1711, and a deacon in the church. In the 
autumn of 17 11, he was in command of one of the eighteen gar- 
risons in the town. The name of Matthias Farnsworth, of Groton, 
appears in a list of prisoners in the hands of the French and 
Indians in Canada, March 5, 1710-n, though there is nothing in 
the record to show when he was captured. He was probably the 
son of Matthias, Jr., and, if so, he was a young man about twenty 
years old at the date of the list. 

The first settlement of Charlestown, New Hampshire, — then 
known as Number 4, — was made in the year 1740, by three 
brothers, Samuel, David, and Stephen Farnsworth, natives of 
Groton. They all became leading men in the town, and dis- 
tinguished themselves on several occasions in fights with the 
Indians. Samuel Farnsworth, the eldest brother, was killed in 
a skirmish. May 2, 1746 ; David was taken prisoner by a party 
of Indians, April 20, 1757, and carried to Canada. He managed 
to escape, and reached home, probably soon after his capture. 
Stephen, the youngest brother, also had his bitter experience with 
the savages. He was captured April 19, 1746, and taken to 
Montreal, where he remained seventeen months, when he was 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



exchanged. His health was so broken down by the hardships of 
his captivity that he never fully regained it. He died September 
6, 1 77 1, leaving behind him the example of a brave man and a 
useful citizen. 

jFfirriJljjton. Matthew Farrington was one of the petitioners 
for the plantation of Groton, and a member of the first board of 
selectmen appointed by the General Court. He was a son of 
Edmund Farrington, of Lynn, and was born in England. 

Wilson. Joseph Gilson was one of the original proprietors of 
the town, and owned a nine-acre right. He married, November i8, 
1660, Mary Caper, at Chelmsford, and removed from that town to 
Groton before March 5, 1665-6. He died in the summer of 1676, 
at Concord, where he went, probably, when Groton was deserted by 
its inhabitants. An inventory of his estate is on file in the Middle- 
sex Probate Office at East Cambridge. He left five children, viz., 
Mary, born November 17, 1662, at Chelmsford ; Timothy; Joseph, 
born March 8, 1666-7, ^t Groton, married twice, and had five 
children by each wife ; Sarah, born June 25, 1669, at Groton ; and 

John, born April 23, 1674, at Groton, married Sarah ^-, and 

had five children. Both Joseph and John lived and died at 
Groton, and John's widow married. May 17, 1709, for her second 
husband, Richard WarnerjlDy whom she had four children. Joseph 
Gilson, a grandson of the original proprietor, was one of the seven 
Groton men with Captain Lovewell in his fight at Pigwacket, and 
the only one of the seven who escaped unhurt. One Joseph Gilson 
of Groton, presented a petition to the General Court, June 11, 
1760, "representing his Services and Sufferings, for his Country 
praying a Compensation." 

|i^<li)Cn. Richard Haven was one of the petitioners for the 
plantation of Groton. He was living in Lynn as early as the year 
1645, and is said to have come from the west of England. His 
will was proved June 14, 1703. 

ll^incfelfg. Thomas Hinckley, one of the selectmen first 
appointed by the General Court, was probably a son of Samuel 
Hinckley, of Scituate, and afterward of Barnstable. If this sup- 



8 EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 

position be correct, he was the Governor of Plymouth Colony from 
the year 1681 to 1692. 

ILn'kiVi. William Lakin, the ancestor of the numerous families 
of this name that have lived at Groton, died December 10, 1672, at 
the advanced age of go or 91 years. He was born in England, and 
came to this country with his daughter-in-law and her two sons, 
William and John Lakin. Mr. Butler, in his excellent " History," 
(page 273), says that the family came from Redington, but as 
there is no such place in England, perhaps the parish of Ridling- 
ton is meant. They early settled at Reading, where the name was 
sometimes spelled Laukin. The two brothers were original pro- 
prietors of Groton, each owning a twenty-acre right. 

William Lakin married Lydia, daughter of Abraham Brown, of 
Watertown, and had Lydia, born 1650; Mary, born 1652 ; William, 
born May 6, 1655 ; John, born January 3, 1658 ; Jonathan, born 
June 28, 1661 ; Abraham, born January 10, 1664 ; William, born 
May, 1665; Abraham, born September 11, 1667; and Eliab, 
born January 8, 1669. The first five were born at Reading, and the 
others at Groton. 

John Lakin married Mary , and had the following chil- 
dren, born at Groton, on the dates set against their respective 
names: Sarah, February 4, 1661-2 ; William, May 12, 1664; Abi- 
gail, March 13, 1666-7 i Joseph, April 14, 1670 ; Benjamin, 
November 6, 1672; and Josiah, September 14, 1675. 

William Lakin was appointed October 15, 1673, Lieutenant of 
the military company of the town, and his brother John was con- 
firmed by the Governor and Council, July 13, 1689, as Ensign of 
the same company, though they may have acted as officers before 
these dates. 

The murderous assault made by the Indians on the town, Jiily 
27, 1694, was begun at the house of Lieutenant William Lakin, who 
lived somewhere in the neighborhood of Chicopee Row. Isaac 
Lakin, a grandson of William, was wounded in Lovewell's fight 
with the Indians. 

The following entry is found in the printed "Journal" of the 
Massachusetts House of Representatives, for January 10, 1760 : — 

" A Petition of Oliver taken of Groton, in the County of Middlesex, sliewing, 
that he was. a .Soldier in the Pay of the Province Anno 1758, and was on the 20th 
Day of ynly the same Year, Captivated by the Indian Enemy, suffered many & 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



great Hardships, and was obliged to borrow a Sum of Money to purchase his 
Freedom from Captivity ; he therefore prays he may be allowed the Sum 
of Money he borrowed ; also the Charges of his Passage home, and a further 
Allowance for his Loss of Time and Sufferings &c" 

The answer to this petition is found in the proceedings of Janu- 
ary 12, and is as follows : — 

" The Committee appointed to consider the Petition of Oliver LiU-iii, Re- 
ported thereon. 

" Read and accepted in Part, viz. Resolved. That the Sum of eight Pounds, be 
allowed and paid out of the public Treasury to William Latarenee, Esq ; for 
the Use of the Petitioner, in full Consideration for his Services and Sufferings 
therein mentioned. 

"Sent up for Concurrence." 

The petitioner was a son of William and Miriam Lakin, and a 
great-grandson of Ensign John Lakin. 

lL(l\l)l'rUCC. The ancestor of this numerous family was John 
Lawrence, who was born at Wisset, England, where he was bap- 
tized October 8, i6og. He married Elizabeth , and had 

thirteen children, all with one exception born at Watertown, where 
he settled on coming to this country. His daughter Elizabeth was 
born in Boston. The date and the place of his marriage are not 
known. He was an original proprietor of Groton, owning a twenty- 
acre right ; two of his sons were also original proprietors, Nathaniel 
having a ten-acre right, and Joseph a five-acre right. His house 
and land at Watertown were sold about the year 1662, and in the 
same )'ear the name is found in the Groton records. John's wife, 
Elizabeth, died August 29, 1663, at Groton, and he married, 
November 2, 1664, for his second wife, Susanna, daughter of Wil- 
liam Batchelder, of Charlestown, by whom he had two daughters. 
John died here July 11, 1667, and his widow, July 8, 1668, at 
Charlestown.^ His second son, Nathaniel, is represented in this 
neighborhood at the present time by numerous descendants. He 
held various offices in the church and town, and was one of the 
first representatives to the General Court, under the charter of 
William and Mar)', in the year 1693. He married, first, March 13, 
1660-1, Sarah, daughter of John and Hannah Morse, of Ded- 
ham, and lived for a while at Sudbur)', before coming to Groton. 
His wife died August 29, 1683, and he married, secondly, Han- 
nah . In advanced life he removed to that part of Cam- 



lO EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 

bridge now Lexington, where one of his sons was living, and 
here he died March 12, 1746, leaving a large family. Subsequently 
three of his grandchildren, Thomas, William, and Amos, came 
from Lexington to Groton to live. Two other of John's sons, 
Peleg and Enosh, lived at Groton, and had families. Enosh was 
wounded by the Indians, probably in the attack of July 27, 1694. 
He afterward represented in a petition to the Governor and Coun- 
cil that he was a very poor man by reason of wounds received in 
his hands, which almost wholly disabled him from earning a liveli- 
hood for himself and family. In consequence of these representa- 
tions, he was allowed exemption from taxes, October 17, 1702, and 
an annual pension of three pounds during life. The name Enosh 
is a variation from Enos, and not from Enoch, with which it is fre- 
quently confounded. This will be seen by consulting the Geneva 
version of the Bible, long used in preference to King James's ver- 
sion, by the New England men, and out of which Enosh Lawrence 
V was undoubtedly named. In this, " Enosh " will be found where 
the authorized version has "Enos," in Genesis v. 6, 7, g-ii. 

ILonSlCg. William Longley was among the earliest settlers of 
the town, and was the owner of a thirty-acre right. He was the 
son of Richard Longley, of Lynn, where in the town records the 
name is sometimes spelled Langley. He had been one of the se- 
lectmen of Lynn, and was clerk of the writs in the year 1655. He 
removed, about the year 1660, to Groton, where he was one of the 
selectmen in the year 1665, and town clerk in 1666. He d|ed 
November 29, 16S0, leaving a will dated six days before his death. 
His widow, Joanna, afterward married Benjamin Crispe, whom 
she survived ; she died at Charlestown in the year 1698. The 
following is a list of his children, though probably not in the order 

of their birth : John, born about 1640, married Hannah , 

and had several children; Elizabeth, married, September 7, 1669, 
James Blood, and died about 1677, leaving two daughters, Mary 
and Elizabeth, who married brothers named Shattuck ; Anna, or 
Hannah, who married, June 30, 1666, Thomas Tarbell, Jr., and 
had several children ; Mary, who married Samuel Leaman, prob- 
ably of Charlestown ; Sarah, born October 15, 1660, married, June 
17, 1679, Thomas Rand, of Charlestown ; Lydia, who married 
James Nutting, and had six children ; and William, who married, 
May 15, 1673, Lydia . He was town clerk in the year 1687, 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. i i 

and from 1692 till his death in 1694. Williatii lived on the east 
side of the HoUis road, about a mile from the village. A melan- 
choly interest is connected with the site, as it was here that he and 
his wife, with five children, were massacred by the Indians in their 
assault on the town, July 27, 1694. Three more of their children, 
Lydia, John, and Betty, were carried off by the savages, and taken 
to Canada. Lydia was sold to the French, and placed in the Con- 
gregation of Notre Dame, a convent in Montreal, where she 
embraced the Roman Catholic faith, and died July 20, 1758, at the 
advanced age of 84 years. Betty died soon after her capture 
from hunger and exposure, and John, the third child, remained with 
the savages for more than four years, when he was ransomed and 
brought away, much against his own will. At one time during his 
captivity, he was on the verge of starving, when an Indian kindly 
gave him a dog's foot to gnaw, which for the time appeased his 
hunger. He was known among his captors as John Angary. After 
he came home, his sister Lydia wrote from Canada, urging him to 
abjure the Protestant religion, but he remained true to his early 
faith. 

Their grandmother, the widow of Benjamin Crispe, April 13, 
169S, made her will, which was admitted to probate on the 28lh of 
the following December, and in it she remembered these absent 
children as follows : — 

"I give and bequeath Vnto my three Grand-Children y' are in Captivity if 
they retuine Vizdt three books one of y" a bible another a Sermon booke treat- 
ing of faith and the other a psalme book." 

John Longley returned about the time that his grandmother 
died. 

In the month of July last, I was in Montreal, where I pro- 
cured, through the kindness of the Mother 'Superior, a copy of the 
record from the Congregation of Notre Dame, of which the follow- 
ing is a translation : — 

" On Tuesday, April 24, 1696, the ceremony of baptism was performed on an 
English girl, named Lydia Longley, who was born April 14, 1674, at Groton, a 
few miles from Boston in New England. She was the daughter of William Long- 
ley and Deliverance Crisp, both Protestants. She was captured in the month 
of July, j6So [1694 .'] by the Abenaqui Indians, and has lived for the past month 
in the house of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame. The godfather 
was M. Jacques Leber, merchant ; the godmother was Madame Marie Made- 



12 EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



leiiie Dupont, wife of M. de Maricourt, Eciiyer, Captain of a company of 
Marines : she named this English girl Lydia Madeleine. 

[Signed] LYDIA MADELEINE LONGLEY, 

MADELEINE DUPONT, 
LEBER, 
M. CAILLE, acting curat,-.''' 

Note. — The date of capture in tliis record is written ont in full, and the omission of one word 
would cause the mistake ; i,e-y " mil six cent quatre-vingt," omitting quatorze, 

Jfttavtilt. Tlie name of William Martin heads the list of 
petitioners for the plantation of Groton. He was an original pro- 
prietor of the town, owning a twenty-acre right. He came here at 
an early date from Reading, where he had been one of the select- 
men. He married the widow of William Lakin, Jr., — though 
neither the date nor the place of marriage is known, — and he 
lived near Martin's Pond, which was named after him. His wife 
died August 14, 1669, and he died March 26, 1672, aged about 76 
years. He left a will, dated twenty days before his death, in which 
he bequeathed ten pounds " towards purchasing a meeting house bell 
for the town's use." It was sixty years, however, before the town 
obtained the legacy, and even then only by a suit brought against 
one of the legatees, who had wrongfully received a portion of 
Martin's estate. 

^HOOtS. Abraham Moors, the progenitor of various families 
bearing the name in this neighborhood, came from England, near 
the beginning of the last century. He was a weaver by trade, and 
lived in the south part of the town. He married, November 21, 
1 717, Elizabeth Gilson, and they had six sons and three daughters. 
Mr. Moors died in March, 1780, aged 87 years, and his wife 
December 4, 1770, aged 72 years. Their youngest son, Joseph, was 
in active service during a part of the French War, and served with 
distinction as an officer in the Revolution. He filled many posi- 
tions of trust and responsibility among his townsmen, and died 
July 25, 1820, aged 82 years. 

IS'Uttlllfl. John Nutting, the common ancestor of the different 
families in Groton bearing this name, was an original proprietor of 
the town, and owned a seventeen-acre right. His land lay on the 
northerly side of James's Brook, and his house, which was one of 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 13 

the earliest garrisons, stood near the present site of Liberty Hall. 
It was from this garrison house that the Indian chief, on the night 
of March 13, 1676, "did very familiarly in appearance, call out to 
Capt. Parker that was lodged in another Garrison house," situated 
near where Captain Asa S. Lawrence now lives. 

John Nutting married, August 28, 1650, Sarah Eggleton [?], at 
Woburn, where a son was born, who may have been John, men- 
tioned below, and probably other children. A daughter, Mary, was 
born January 16, 1656, at Chelmsford, at which place John, James, 
and Mary were baptized August 3, 1656 ; also Sarah, born Janu- 
ary 7, 1660, and died soon afterward. 

He was one of the petitioners for the town of Chelmsford, and 
he removed probably from that town to Groton, where three of his 
children were born, — Sarah, May 29, 1663 ; Ebenezer, October 23, 
1666 ; and Jonathan, October 17, i668. 

]{)att!Sij. John Parish was an original proprietor of the town, 
and owned a five-acre right. He was one of a committee with 
John Page and Ensign Lawrence, chosen December 23, 1683, to 
prove the proprietors' title to their land. In the year 1693, he 
represented the town in the General Court. Thomas Parish, a son 
of Thomas Parish, of Cambridge, and a graduate of Harvard 
College in the class of 1659, was living in Groton at an early 
date. 

33afferr. in the early history of Groton, this was the most 
numerous family in town. James Parker and Joseph Parker, prob- 
ably brothers, were original proprietors, the first named owning 
a fifty-acre right, and the other a twenty-acre right. James was a 
distinguished man, and a leader in all public affairs. A sketch of 
his life and a copy of his will are given in Mr. Butler's " History " 
(pages 281-285). He was living at Woburn in the year 1640, 
and he married, May 23, 1643, Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Long, 
of Charlestown. Their children were Elizabeth, born March 12, 

■ 1645. married Gary ; Ann, born March 5, 1647 ; John, born 

February 18, 1649 ; Sarah, born August 29, 1650, died next year; 
Joseph, born, 1651 ; James, born April 15, 1652; Josiah, born 
165s ; Samuel, born 1656 ; Joshua, born March 13, 1658, married 
Abigail (Shattuck) Morse, widow of Jonathan Morse ; Zechariah, 
born January 14, 1659 > «ind Eleazer, born November 9, 1660. He 



14 EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



married, for his second wife, Mrs. Eunice (Brooks) Carter, widow of 
Samuel Carter, and had a daughter Sarah, who was born December 
12, 1697, after the father had reached the age of 80 years. His six 
oldest children were born at Woburn ; before coming to Groton, he 
lived for a while at Chelmsford, where several others were born. 
He died in the year 1701, aged about 84 years. James's house lot 
lay on both sides of the principal street in the village, just south of 
the small stream which to this day is called James's Brook, named 
after him. His house was one of the garrisons during King Philip's 
War, and it was with Captain Parker that the Indian chief, on the 
night of March 13, 1676, talked, as mentioned in Hubbard's " Nar- 
rative." In the assault made on the town, July 27, 1694, his son 
James and Mary, his son's wife, were killed by the Indians, and 
" several " of their children carried away captives. Another son, 
Josiah, was a captain, and served in the war against the Indians ; 
he was in command at Groton, July 21, 1706, when Nathaniel Healy, 
of Newton, one of his company, was "waylaid " and slain, together 
with Ebenezer Seger, also of Newton, "as they were going to Meet- 
ing On the Sabbath day." A brother of Seger's was taken captive 
at the same time. Joseph Parker, the other original proprietor, was 
probably a brother of James, and the ancestor of the most numer- 
ous branches of the family in this neighborhood. He was a large 
landowner in Groton, Chelmsford, and Dunstable. The town's 
brandmark, used probably for marking cattle, was approved by the 
Governor and magistrates, on his petition dated May 31, i656. 

He married Margaret -, and had the following children, born 

at Chelmsford, on the dates set against their names : Joseph, 
March 30, 1653; Anna, February 2, 1655, died young; Mary, 
October 28, 1657 ; John, November 4, 1660, died October 8, 1661 ; 
Anna, November 16, 1663 ; Sarah, November 16, 1666, died Sep- 
tember 15, 1704. Joseph, the father, died in the year 1690, leaving 

a large estate. Joseph, the son, married, first, Elizabeth • -, and, 

secondl)', November 19, 1684, Hannah Blood ; he had three chil- 
dren by his first wife, and four by his second. He died about the 
year 1725. 

Isaac Parker, of this town, was one of the early settlers of 
Charlestown, New Hampshire, where he went about the year 1740. 
He was taken prisoner by the Indians, April 19, 1746, and re- 
mained in captivity until the following winter, when he was 
released. 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 15 



}|JvrSCOtt. This is the most distinguished name in the annals 
of Groton, and the families bearing it have been numerous. Jonas, 
the progenitor, was the son of John and Mary (Platts) Prescott, and 
was born at Lancaster, in June, 1648. He was a blacksmith by 
trade, and owned the mill in the south part of Groton, now within 
the limits of Harvard. It is said that a grant of land made by the 
town, about the year 1675, when it was much in need of a black- 
smith, induced him to remove nearer to the village. He built a 
house and shop on the lot, which was situated on the easterly side 
of James's Brook, perhaps a third of a mile south of Lawrence 
Academy. He bought lands, until he became one of the largest 
owners of real estate in the town. Two years ago, a piece of wall 
was removed, which separated a part of this lot from the highway, 
near where it forks from the Boston road, and which contained a 
stone bearing this inscription : — 

I. P. 

1680 

Rebuilt by 

O. P. 

1784 
Rebuilt by 
S. J. Park 

1841. 

The initials I. P. are those of Jonas Prescott, and O. P. those of 
his grandson. Dr. Oliver Prescott. 

Jonas married, December 14, 1672, Mary, daughter of John and 
Mary (Draper) Loker, of Sudbury, and they had four sons and 
eight daughters. Two of the sons died young, but all the other 
children lived to grow up and have families. The eight 
daughters, with one exception, married Groton men, and were 
blessed with a numerous offspring. Jonas filled many important 
positions in the town, and represented it in the General Court dur- 
ing the years 1699 'i"^' 1705 ; he died December 31, 1723, aged 75 
years. 

His youngest son, Benjamin, was a man of strong character and 
commanding appearance, and like his father filled many places of 
usefulness. He married, June 11, 1718, Abigail, daughter of the 
Honorable Thomas and Mary (Wilson) Oliver, of Cambridge, and 



1 6 EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 

they had three sons and four daughters. He lived on the old 
homestead, where he died August 3, 1735, at the age of 42 years, 
after a short illness caused by over-exertion while haying. His 
three sons were all remarkable men, and exerted much influence in 
shaping public affairs during an important period. 

James, the eldest son, represented the town in the Genera! Court, 
as his father and grandfather had done before him ; was a member 
of the Senate and of the Executive Council. At the beginning of 
the Revolution, he was a member of the Provincial Congress and 
of the Board of War, and subsequently Sheriff of Middlesex 
County, and a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He died 
February 15, 1800, aged 79 years. 

William, the second son, settled on a large estate owned by his 
father, in that part of Groton called the Gore, now included in 
Pepperell. He was a Lieutenant in the expedition sent in the year 
1755 to remove the French Neutrals from Nova Scotia, and a Colo- 
nel of Minute Men enrolled in this neighborhood in the year 1774. 
As commander of the American forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill, 
June 17, 1775, his name will never be forgotten. In subsequent 
years, at various times he filled the offices of town clerk, select- 
man, and representative in the General Court. He was the father 
of William Prescott, the lawyer and jurist, and the grandfather of 
William H. Prescott, the distinguished historian. He died October 
13, 1795, aged 69 years, and was buried at Pepperell ; his widow 
died October 21, 182 1, at the advanced age of 88 years. 

On the opposite page is a representation of the monument in the 
Pepperell Burying Ground, erected to their memory. It consists of 
a thick slate slab, resting on a solid granite foundation. 

Oliver, the third and youngest son, graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege, in the class of 1750, and studied the profession of medicine, 
in which he afterward had a wide reputation and an extensive prac- 
tice. He was town clerk during thirteen years, and selectman 
during thirty-two years. Before the Revolution, he held the re- 
spective offices of Major, Lieutenant-colonel, Colonel, and General, 
in the militia. Subsequently, in the year 1778, he was appointed 
third Major General of the militia, and in 1781 second Major 
General ; but soon afterward he resigned the position, on account 
of ill health. He was a Justice throughout the Commonwealth, a 
member of the Board of War, a member of the Council of Massa- 
chusetts until he declined the office, and, in the year 1779, was 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 17 

appointed Judge of Probate, and continued as such until his 
death. He took an active part in suppressing Shays's Rebellion, 
which had many supporters in this neighborhood. He was one of 
the original Trustees of Groton Academy, and the first President 
of the Board of Trustees. He was a member of the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of various medical societies. 
He died November 17, 1804, aged 73 years. 

^clttcU. A family of this name settled in Groton about the 
beginning of the last century. It is said to be distinct from the 
Sawtells, who were here before them, though it is not improbable 
that they both came from the same stock. The head of the family 
was Nathaniel, and he had two sons and two daughters. Na- 
thaniel, the elder son, lived at Charlestown, and was a mariner. 
He sailed on a voyage, and was never afterward heard from. 
Josiah, the second son, lived in Groton, and was the last rep- 
resentative of the town to the General Court, under the charter 
of William and Mary. By his will, dated September 3, 1775, he 
bequeathed to the town and church three farms and some other 
property, of which the proceeds constitute the greater part of the 
present Groton Ministerial Fund. He was buried in the old Bury- 
ing Ground. Some years ago, his gravestone was taken to the new 
cemeterj', and the following is a copy of the inscription on it : — 

Josiah Sartell Esq. 

died Augf 30'^ 1784. aged 74 

Mary Sartell his widow, died 

March. 30"" 1790. aged 80. 

and their Children who died in minority 

Nathaniel Sartell Esq. his 

father, who died Jan^ 16'? 1741. aged 60 

Abigail Green her sister, who 

died Dec' 2o'-|? 1790. aged 83. 

and other relations. 

From death's arrest no age is free. 

Removed from the Old Cemetery to the new by N.ithaniel 
Gillson to the lot of Simeon Gillson. 

His widow, Mary, also made a bequest to the church. The 
following is the first clause in her will, which is dated November 
28, 1789, and on file in the Middlesex Probate Office at East 
Cambridge : — 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTOX. 



"I give and bequeath to the first church in the Town of Groton aforesaid 
my Silver Tankard, and the sum of Fifteen pounds Lawful! money, to be for the 
use of said Church Forever " 

,S<TU)trII. Richard Sawtell, the ancestor of numerous families 
bearing this name, was an original proprietor of Groton, and the 
possessor of a twenty-acre right. Two of his sons were also 
original proprietors, Jonathan having a five-acre right, and Zecha- 
riah a ten-acre right. He came here from Watertown, where he 
was living as early as the year 1636. He was town clerk of 
Groton in 1662 and the two subsequent years. He died August 
21, 1694, at Watertown, where he went, doubtless, in the spring of 
1676, after the destruction of this town by the Indians. In his 
will, dated May 16, 1692, he mentions his wife Elizabeth. She 
died October 18, 1694. They had a large family, born probably 
at Watertown, three of whom, Obadiah, Jonathan, and Zechariah, 
lived at Groton. Obadiah, the eldest, married Hannah, daughter 
of George Lawrence, had Abigail, born March 13, 1665-6, and 
probably Obadiah. Jonathan, born August 24, 1639, married, 

July 3, 1665, Mary , and had six children, of whom Jonathan, 

the youngest, was born April 6, 1676, at Watertown. Jonathan, the 
father, died January 6, 1690-1, and his wife, April 26, 1676, a few 
days after the birth of her youngest son. Zechariah, born about the 

year 1644, married , and had Anna, born March 14, 1673-4, 

ajid probably Nathaniel. 

This family is largely represented at Charlestown, New Hamp- 
shire, where the name is spelled Sartwell. This branch sprang 
from Obadiah, an early settler of that town, who went from 
Groton about the year 1740. He was taken prisoner by the In- 
dians, May 24, 1746, and was held until August 20, 1747. He 
finally met his death at their hands, June 17, 1749, being attacked 
while ploughing in his cornfield, without suspecting any danger. 

In the printed " Journal " of the House of Representatives, June 
16, 1738, is found 

" A Petition of Josiah Snrtt-ll, shewing that he was a Soldier in the Service 
of the Province for sundry Years, and was in divers Fights against the Indian 
Enemy, wherein many of them were slain, and he himself was wounded in some 
of the Engagements, that he has received nothing in Consideration of his Smart 
and Services, but the established Pay, that he has a large Family, and under low 
Circumstances ; that he lately presumed for want of Lands and Means of pur- 
chasing, to go upon some of the Province Land on the West side of Connecticut 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.. 19 

River, adjoining to Northfield, a new Canada Town and some Farms, has built 
a small House thereon, and improved some of the Lands there, praying that he 
may obtain a Grant, or be allowed to purchase such Part of the Province Land 
there, as the Court shall think convenient in Consideration of the Premisses. 
Read and Ordered, That the Petition be considered on Tuesday the 20th 
Instant." 

It was voted June 22, that one hundred acres of the unappro- 
priated Lands of the Province be granted the petitioner, and, in the 
record of this date, the name is spelled Joseph SautelL 

In the same "Journal," June 13, 1759, there is 

" A Petition of David Sartiucll of Groton, in the County of Middlesex, set- 
ting forth, that his Son Abel Sartiuell, went forth in the Expedition against 
Canada the last Year ; that near Half- Way-Brook (so called) he was in an 
Engagement with the Enemy, and killed ; that his Gun was then lost ; he 
therefore prays the Stoppage may be taken off, and the Treasurer be directed 
to allow him the ihree Pounds mentioned." 

,^i)clttUCi^. John Shattuck is the ancestor of all the families 
in Groton and its neighborhood, who bear this name. He was the 
son of William and Susanna Shattuck, of Watertown, where he 
himself was born, February 11, 1647. He married, June 20, 1664, 
Ruth, daughter of John, Jr., and Ruth Whitney, who was born 
April 15, 1645, at Watertown. About the time of his marriage, 
lands in Groton were granted him, but it does not appear that he 
ever was an inhabitant of the town. In King Philip's War, he was 
a sergeant of a military company raised in Watertown to protect the 
remote settlements in the Connecticut valley. On one of the 
marches the company was attacked by the Indians, and more than 
one half of the command were slain. Sergeant Shattuck was de- 
puted to bear the news of the affair to the Governor of the colony, 
and, on his way, while crossing the ferry between Charlestown and 
Boston, September 14, 1675, the boat was sunk, and he was 
drowned. His widow afterward married Enosh Lawrence. In the 
year 1678, the date of the re-settlement of the town, Lawrence and 
his wife removed to Groton, bringing with them the four young 
children of her first husband, all born at Watertown. They prob- 
ably occupied the land previously granted to John Shattuck, which 
was situated in the north part of the town. The children were 
John, born June 4, 1666, and married Mary, daughter of James 
and Elizabeth (Longley) Blood; Ruth, born June 24, 1668, and 
married, probably, Jonathan Farnsworth ; William, born September 



20 EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 

II, 1670, and married, first, Hannah Underwood, and, secondly, 
Deliverance Pease ; and Samuel, who married Elizabeth Blood, a 
sister of his brother John's wife. 

The eldest of these children, John Shattuck, and his son, John, 
Jr., a young man in the nineteenth year of his age, were murdered 
by the Indians, May 8, 1709. They were attacked, as they were 
crossing the Nashua River, in the vicinity of the Stony Ford-way, 
near the present site of Hollingsworth's paper mills, while return- 
ing from the west side of the river, where Mr. Shattuck owned 
land. 

A remarkable fatality seems to have followed Mrs. Shattuck's 
kindred. Her husband and eldest son were killed by the Indians, 
as has just been mentioned. Her father, James Blood, was like- 
wise killed September 13, 1692. So also were her uncle, William 
Longley, his wife and five children, July 27, 1694, and three other 
of their children were carried away into captivity at the same time. 
A distant relative, James Parker, Jr., and his wife were killed in this 
assault, and their children taken prisoners. Her stepfather, Enosh 
Lawrence, received a wound in an engagement with the Indians, 
probably in the same attack of July 27, 1694, which almost wholly 
prevented him from earning a livelihood for himself and family. 
The three Tarbell children, who were carried off to Canada by the 
Indians, June 20, 1707, were cousins of Mrs. Shattuck. John 
Ames, the father-in-law of her niece, Ruth (Shattuck) Ames, was 
shot by the savages at the gate of his own garrison, July 9, 1724. 
And lastly, her son-in-law, Isaac Lakin, the husband of her daugh- 
ter Elizabeth, was wounded in Lovewell's fight at Pigwacket, May 
8, 1725. These calamities covered a period of only one generation, 
extending from the year 1692 to 1725. 

•SljCJllCg. This has been a common name in Groton, from an 
early date. The first settler who bore it, and all his family, ex- 
cepting a son John, were massacred by the Indians. The sad 
event took place in the assault on the town, July 27, 1694, when 
his house was burned, and the boy John carried off into captivity 
by the savages, and held during several years. The knowledge 
which he obtained of their language and customs while a prisoner 
was of much use to him in dealing with them in after-life. Tradi- 
tion relates that, when buying furs and skins of the Indians, he 
used to put his foot in one scale of the balance instead of a pound 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 2 1 

weight. In the summer of 1704, while he and thirteen other men 
were reaping in a field at Groton, they were attacked by about 
twenty Indians. After some skirmishing, Shepley and one of his 
comrades, Butterfield by name, succeeded in killing one of the 
assailants, for which act they were allowed each four pounds by the 
Government. He is the direct ancestor of the late Honorable Ether 
Shepley, formerly Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State 
of Maine, and of General George F. Shepley, now a Justice of the 
Circuit Court of the First Circuit of the United States. 

John Shepley, who lived at Wenham, was probably the pro- 
genitor of the Groton family. He removed to Chelmsford in the 
year 1656, at the time the Reverend Mr. Fiske took a majority of 
his church to that town. 

cStonC. This has been a common name for nearly two centu- 
ries, and the families bearing it have lived in the south part of the 
town. Deacon Simon Stone was an original proprietor, owning an 
eighteen-acre right. He was the oldest of the children of Deacon 
Simon and Mary (Whipple) .Stone, of Watertown. Perhaps he is 
the person referred to by Mather (Magnalia, vii. 74), who was 
severely wounded by the Indians, July 4, 1690, at Exeter, New 
Hampshire. Simon Stone and John Stone, mentioned in the 
distribution of garrisons, March 17, 169 1-2, were probably father 

and son. Simon married Sarah , and it is probable that several 

of his children were born before he came to Groton, as their births 
are not recorded in the town records. Among these were John and 
Simon, Jr., who were often chosen town officers ; James, a son of 
Simon, Jr., was a deacon in the church. 

JTattJElI. Thomas Tarbell, the ancestor of this family, sold 
his house and land in Watertown in the year 1663, and about the 
same time removed to Groton. He and Thomas, Jr., were original 
proprietors of the town, the father owning a twenty-acre right, and 
the son a six-acre right. The name is sometimes written Tar- 
bole. He married Mary , and had Elizabeth, born January 5, 

1656-7, and William, born February 26, 1658-9, both at Water- 
town. The names of two other children, Thomas, Jr., and Abigail, 
do not appear in the town records of Watertown, and they probably 
were born before he settled in that town. He was one of four 
men, to whom twenty acres of land were granted by the town of 



22 EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



Groton, in the year 1665, on condition that they should build a 
grist-mill. At the outbreak of King Philip's War, he went to 
Charlestown, where he married, for the second time, August 15, 
1676, Susanna, widow of John Lawrence, Jr. He died at Charles- 
town as early as the beginning of 1681, and his widow at the same 
place, January 5, 1692. Thomas Tarbell, Jr., married, June, 30, 
1666, Hannah, daughter of William and Joanna Longley, and had 
four children. He died in the autumn of 1678, and administration 
on his estate was granted his widow, December 18, 1678. Thomas 
Tarbell, 3d, eldest child of the preceding Thomas, married, Decem- 
ber I, i6S5, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard and Isabel Blood, and 
had ten children. He was town clerk of Groton in the years 1704 
and 1705. He lived on what is now known as Farmers' Row, a 
short distance south of the Lawrence Farm. He was probably the 
"Corp" Tarboll," who commanded, in the autumn of 1711, one of 
the eighteen garrisons in the town. Three of his children, Sarah, 
John, and Zachariah, were carried off by the Indians, June 20, 
1707, and never came back to remain. They were picking cherries 
early one evening — so tradition relates — and were taken before 
they had time to get down from the tree. They were carried to 
Canada, where, it would seem, they were treated kindly, as no 
inducement was strong enough afterward to make them return. 
The girl was sold to the French, and placed in a convent near 
Montreal ; the boys remained with their captors at Caughnawaga, 
an Indian village near Montreal, and subsequently married squaws 
and became chiefs of their tribe. Their case was brought before 
the Council and House of Representatives, April 20, 1739, in 
Boston, by Governor Belcher, when he made a speech, in which 
he said that — 

" There are lately come from Canada some Persons that were taken by the 
Indians from Groton above thirty Years ago, who (its believed) may be induced 
to return into this Province, on your giving them some proper Encouragement : 
If this Matter might be effected, I should think it would be not only an Act of 
Compassion in order to release them from the Errors and Delusions of the 
Romish Faith ; but their living among us might, in Time to come, be of great 
Advant.age to the Province." 

The matter was referred to a committee, but no definite result 
was reached. Nearly forty years after their capture, Governor 
Hutchinson met them in New York State, and refers to them 
thus : — 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



" I saw at Albany two or three men, in the year 1744, who came in with the 
Indians to trade, and who had been taken at Groton in this, that is called 

Queen Ann's war. One of them Tarbell, was said to be one of the 

wealthiest of the Cagnawaga tribe. He made a visit in his Indian dress and 
with his Indian compIe.\ion (for by means of grease and paints but little differ- 
ence could be discerned) to his relations at Groton, but had no inclination to 
remain there." — Hutchinson's " History of Massachusetts," ii. 139. 

Some years after this time, these two boys — now grown up to 
manhood, and occupying the position of chiefs — moved up the 
St. Lawrence River, accompanied by several others, all with their 
families, and established the little village of St. Regis. 

In the month of July last, I visited the place, and was interested 
to learn from the parish priest that the descendants of these two 
boys were among the prominent families of the settlement, where 
there are perhaps forty persons who bear the name. They keep 
up in a great measure the same given names that are common 
among their collateral kindred in this town. While in Montreal, I 
procured, through the kindness of the Mother Superior at the Con- 
gregation of Notre Dame, the record of. Sarah's baptism, of which 
the following is a translation : — 

"On Monday, July 23, 170S, the ceremony of baptism was performed on 
Sarah Tarbell, who was born at Groton in New England, October 9, 1693. Her 
parents were Thomas Tarbell and Elizabeth Wood, both Protestants, and she 
was baptized by the minister shortly after her birth. Having been taken by the 
savages on Monday, June 20, 1707, she was brought to Canada ; she has since 
been sold and has lived with the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame, 
established at Lachine, where she abjured her religion on May 1. Her god- 
father was M. Jacques Urbain Robert de Lamorandiere, Secretary of M. 
I'Intendant ; and her godmother was Madame Marguerite Bonat, wife of M. 
Etienne Pascaud, the deputy treasurer of the King, in this country. 

Her name Sarah has been changed to Marguerite. 

[Signed] MG™ BONAT, 

RASCAUD, 
LAMORANDIERE, 
MERIEL, PRETRE." 

Thomas Tarbell, the father of these children, made his will Sep- 
tember 26, 1 7 15, which was admitted to probate si.\ weeks later. 
After making certain bequests to different members of his family, 
he says : — 

" all the rest & residue of my Reall Estate I give to be Equally divided be- 
tween my three children, John, Zachary, & Sarah Tarbell, upon their return 
from Captivity, or In Proportion unto any of them that shall return, & the rest, 
or the parts belonging to them that do not return, shall be Equally divided 
■among the rest of my children." 



24 EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 

In the printed "Journal" of the House of Representatives, 
for April 22, 1746, there is found "A Petition of William Tarbell 
of Grnton, a Soldier wounded in the Service of the Province, pray- 
ing a Consideration therefor." This petitioner was a nephew of 
the captives. 

STinfecr. John Tinker, one of the original selectmen appointed 
by the General Court, was living as early as the year 1643, at 
Windsor, Connecticut, and afterward at Boston. He was among 
the first settlers of Lancaster, where he was a selectman and town 
clerk. At one time he bought of the Government the right to trade 
in furs at Nashaway [Lancaster] and Groton. He subsequently 
removed to New London, Connecticut, and died suddenly, in Octo- 
ber, 1662, at Hartford. 

ESUfUtljrop. Deane Winthrop, whose name stands at the 
head of the earliest list of selectmen appointed by the General 
Court, was a son of Governor John Winthrop, of Massachusetts, 
and a native of Groton, England. It was in compliment to him 
that the name of his birthplace was given to this town. The fol- 
lowing letter, written by a distinguished representative of his family, 
will be read with interest : — 

Boston, 27 February, 1S78. 

My DEAR Dr. Green, — It would give me real pleasure to aid you in estab- 
lishing the relations of Deane Winthrop to the town of Groton in Massachu- 
setts. But there are only three or four letters of Deane's among th^ family 
papers in my possession, and not one of them is dated Groton. Nor can I find 
in any of the family papers a distinct reference to his residence there. 

There are, however, two brief notes of his, both dated "the 16 of Decem- 
ber, 1662," which I cannot help thinking may have been written at Groton. One 
of them is addressed to his brother John, the Governor of Connecticut, who was 
then in London, on business connected with the Charter of Connecticut. In 
this note, Deane says as follows : — 

" I have some thoughts of removing from the place th.at I now live in, into 
your Colony, if I could lit of a convenient pl.ice. The pl.ice that I now live 
in is too little for me, my children now growing up." 

We know that Deane Winthrop was at the head of the first Bo.ird of Select- 
men of Groton a few years earlier, and that he went to reside at Pullen Point, 
now called Winthrop, not many years after. 

I am strongly inclined to think with you that this note of December, 1662, 
was written at Groton. 

Yours very truly, 

ROBT. C. WINTHROP. 

S.MiuEL A. Green, M.D. 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 25 

S12Eitt. John Witt was one of the petitioners for the plantation 
of Groton ; but he probably never was an inhabitant of the town. 
As early as the year 1C50 he was a resident of Lynn, where he died 
December 2, 1675. 

SlSSOOtlS. Samuel Woods was an original proprietor of Gro'ton, 
and owned an eleven-acre right. He is the ancestor of most of 
the families in this neighborhood, bearing the name. Two of his 
grandchildren, Thomas Woods and Daniel Woods, were with Cap- 
tain John Lovewell, in his famous fight with the Indians, May 8, 
1725, and both were killed. Henry Woods, a great-grandson, was 
in an expedition up the Kennebec River, in the summer of 1755. 
At the Battle of Bunker Hill, he was a Major under Colonel 
William Prescott, and subsequently promoted to a colonelcy ; after 
the war he was a general of the militia. 



26 EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 



SOME INSTANCES OF LARGE FAMILIES AND OF 
LONG-LIVED PERSONS IN GROTON. 



The following are some instances of large families, reared in 
Groton, between the years 1700 and 1800. The maiden names of 
the inothers, so far as they are known, are given within paren- 
theses : — - 

Robert and Deborah Parker had sixteen children. Ebenezer 
and Abigail Blood, Joseph and Abigail (Sawtell) Parker, Jonathan 
and Ruth Farnsworth, and Oliver and Sarah (Tarbell) Farnsworth 
were blessed, each couple, with families of fourteen children. 

Mrs. Joseph Parker, named above, "left two Hundred or up- 
wards of Children & Grandchildren," according to the inscription 
on her gravestone. She died February 19, 1787, in the 90th year 
of her age. 

Jonas and Jemima (Holden) Green were the happy parents of 
ten children, all born within a period of less than eleven years, 
and among them were twins and triplets. By a second marriage, 
Jonas became the father of nine more children. 

Elisha and Elizabeth (Adams) Rockwood were favored with 
thirteen children. Isaac and Priscilla (Dodge) Bowers, John and 
Ruth Frost, Jonathan and Esther (Sliedd) Lawrence, Nathaniel 
and Elizabeth (Page) Nutting, John and Elizabeth (Nutting) Nut- 
ting, Joseph and Mary (Prescott) Stone, Captain John and Molly 
(Everett! Williams, and Nathaniel and Alice Woods were each the 
parents of twelve children. 

Some remarkable cases of longe\ity and of regular succession of 
deaths, in this town, during one year, are given in the Groton 
"Spirit of the Times," for July 26, 1848. The list was furnished 
by Mr. Butler, and is as follows : — 

Molly, willow of Amos Stone, died May 13, 1847, '^g^d 94 years 
and I montii. 



EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 27 

Abigail, widow of John Lawrence, died July 10, 1847, ^ged 93 
years and 9 months. 

Mary, widow of John Capell, died September 6, 1847, aged 93 
years, 4 months and 25 days. 

Major Amos Farnsworth died October 19, 1847, aged 93 years, 

6 months and i day. 

Elizabeth, his widow, died December 11, 1847, aged 90 years, 

7 months and 24 days. 

Lucy, widow of Deacon Samuel Rockwood, died May 12, 1848, 
aged 90 years, 8 months and 23 days. 

All the above-named persons, with the exception of Mr. and 
Mrs. Capell, were natives of Groton, and each one of the six de- 
cedents was, at the date of death, the oldest person in town. 



It is interesting to note the changes that have occurred in bap- 
tismal names within a few generations. In the early days of New 
England, certain names that now sound uncouth to the ear were in 
common use in every community. They were taken largely from 
the Bible, which was, perhaps, the only book universally read at 
that time. Zerubbabel Kemp was living in Groton at the be- 
ginning of the last century, and he gave the name to one of his 
sons, who lived to grow up, notwithstanding the infliction. Me- 
phibosheth Adams was a resident of the west parish of Groton a 
hundred and fifty years ago, but he spared his own boys. A class 
of names, common in the last century, and representing abstract 
qualities, such as Faith, Hope, Charity, Temperance, Prudence, 
and Virtue, have now entirely disappeared. The good old names 
of Molly, Polly, Dolly, and Sally are never seen in their original 
spelling ; Susie is considered a better form than Sukey, and Bessie 
is preferred to Betty. 

The name of Gabriel Lakin, of Groton, was kept Up through 
several generations, and the name of Sibyl was in common use 
in the same family. John Frost, perhaps a kinsman of the 
well-known " Jack Frost," had, among his twelve children, a son 
called Scripture. His eldest daughter was Jemima, and his 
three youngest were named respectively Tr3phena, Patience, and 
Submit. 



28 EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON. 

Mr. Butler, in the genealogical Appendix to his " History " 
(l"ge 394), mentions the family of "John Darby and Mar}^" 
and in the next page gives that of "John Derbyshire and Mary," 
as if they were different families. They were, however, undoubt- 
edly one and the same. This view is confirmed by the name of 
the wife, the dates of the birth of the children, and the tendency 
in former times to cut words short. Before coming to Groton, 
John lived at Dunstable, where other children were born. I have 
seen his signature, and he wrote it Darbyshire. 




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